John Fahey is largely responsible for legitimizing the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo concert instrument . Before his unique , minimalist vision came to the fore , only nylon-string classical guitar held legitimacy in this capacity , while steel string was regarded more as a tool for accompanying singers or other folk instrumentalists . Fahey changed everything with his first album , an initially self-released collection of songs originally entitled Blind Joe Death . Though not immediately successful , the record would go on to be reissued several times , and be the basis for an entire genre of music , American Primitive Guitar , which is still with us today . Fahey ’ s genius was many-layered , but it was primarily the way in which he seamlessly fused varied influences that made his vision so singular . He lifted fingerpicking techniques and open tunings from obscure folk and blues records , often marrying them to dissonant harmonic concepts from modernist classical composers like Charles Ives . Later works would see him taking these ideas even further , incorporating elements of Brazilian music , gamelan , raga , Gregorian chanting , and avant-garde music among other things . Blind Joe Death
remains among his most popular works , however , and it ’ s a perfect starting point for the unfamiliar listener . A standout track is “ On the Sunny Side of the Ocean ,” which transitions from bright , if somewhat melancholy , opening figures to strikingly heavy , dissonant , descending chords at the one minute mark , to subtle , fleeting Spanish tonalities in the last half . It ’ s a wonderful microcosm of the mind-bending Fahey style , and a great reminder of the power of an unaccompanied guitar .
John Fahey The Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death
John Fahey is largely responsible for legitimizing the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo concert instrument . Before his unique , minimalist vision came to the fore , only nylon-string classical guitar held legitimacy in this capacity , while steel string was regarded more as a tool for accompanying singers or other folk instrumentalists . Fahey changed everything with his first album , an initially self-released collection of songs originally entitled Blind Joe Death . Though not immediately successful , the record would go on to be reissued several times , and be the basis for an entire genre of music , American Primitive Guitar , which is still with us today . Fahey ’ s genius was many-layered , but it was primarily the way in which he seamlessly fused varied influences that made his vision so singular . He lifted fingerpicking techniques and open tunings from obscure folk and blues records , often marrying them to dissonant harmonic concepts from modernist classical composers like Charles Ives . Later works would see him taking these ideas even further , incorporating elements of Brazilian music , gamelan , raga , Gregorian chanting , and avant-garde music among other things . Blind Joe Death
remains among his most popular works , however , and it ’ s a perfect starting point for the unfamiliar listener . A standout track is “ On the Sunny Side of the Ocean ,” which transitions from bright , if somewhat melancholy , opening figures to strikingly heavy , dissonant , descending chords at the one minute mark , to subtle , fleeting Spanish tonalities in the last half . It ’ s a wonderful microcosm of the mind-bending Fahey style , and a great reminder of the power of an unaccompanied guitar .